Surface mountable cleaning apparatus for water tubs

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for cleaning water tubs is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an elongated handle with a first end and a second end, a frame attached to the first end of the elongated handle, a suction cup attached to the second end of the elongated handle, and a replaceable net having a fine-mesh structure releasably attached to the frame. The frame maybe provided with a fine mesh net having a plurality of small holes. The suction cup provided on the handle may allow the apparatus to be easily docked onto the surface of the tub. The user may dock the apparatus onto the surface of the tub when the apparatus is not in use.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a cleaning apparatus. More particularly, the present invention is related to an apparatus for removing debris from water tubs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A bathtub is a container for holding water in which a person or animal may bathe. Most modern bathtubs are made of thermoformed acrylic, porcelain enameled steel, fiberglass reinforced polyester, porcelain enameled cast iron, etc. A bathtub is usually placed in a bathroom either as a stand-alone fixture or in conjunction with a shower. Modern bathtubs have overflow and waste drains and may have taps mounted on them. They are usually built-in, but may be free-standing or sometimes sunken. Until recently, most bathtubs were roughly rectangular in shape, but with the advent of acrylic thermoformed baths, more shapes are becoming available.

Hot tubs, a variant of bathtub, are large tubs filled with water generally used for hydrotherapy, relaxation or pleasure. They are also called as spas or by the trade name “Jacuzzi” and may employ powerful jets for massage purposes. In contrast to a typical bathtub, a hot tub is designed to be used by more than one person at a time, with many models accommodating four or more people. Although hot tubs may be located outdoors or indoors, they are usually installed outdoors.

In this disclosure, the containers including bathtubs and hot tubs will be referred generally as tubs. One of the important issues faced by such tubs is accumulation of debris. While modern tubs are provided with filters and covers to avoid debris such as leaves, wrappers, hair, etc., from falling inside the tubs, they are not be fool-proof Users will have to manually remove the such debris using nets or extractors.

US20120180812A1 discloses a combination pool strainer and brush for cleaning debris from a body of water and from a bottom surface of a water holding container including a frame defining an outer perimeter of an opening through which debris passes; a net for capturing debris integrally formed with the frame; a plurality of bristles that are integrally formed with the frame and cooperatively form a brush; a flange for scraping debris from a bottom surface of a container for holding a body of water, the flange integrally formed with the frame and formed at at least a 45 degree angle with respect to the plurality of bristles, wherein the flange protrudes outwardly from the frame at a least a 45 degree angle; and a handle attachment structure integrally formed with the frame on an opposing side of the frame from the flange adapted to receive an elongated handle.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,034,181B1 discloses a swimming pool net includes a mesh material and a frame that circumscribes the mesh. Fasteners are positioned in the frame to secure the mesh to the frame. A pair of mounts is formed in the frame in opposed relation to one another. A spring has opposed ends that respectively engage the opposed mounts. The spring is taut when its opposite ends engage the mounts. A middle section of the spring is manually pulled and spaced apart from the mesh by a preselected distance, followed by abrupt release of the spring, causing the middle section to travel from a first side of the frame to a second side, striking the mesh as the spring passes through the plane of the frame and ejecting items away from the mesh. The mounts may be apertures or posts or the ends of the spring may be embedded in the frame.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,383,374B1 discloses a pool skimmer system for facilitating the removal of debris from pools. The pool skimmer system includes a skimmer assembly, which is substantially buoyant for facilitating skimming along a top surface of a pool and designed for collecting debris, and a handle assembly which includes a proximal end pivotally coupled to the skimmer assembly and a distal end designed for grasping by a human hand is used to facilitate placement of the skimmer assembly in an interior position of the top surface of the pool being skimmed.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,232,523B2 discloses an improved device for collecting and removing debris from a swimming pool, pond or the like comprising a mesh material formed into a net for collecting and temporarily storing the debris. The net includes a top open portion with a support frame and a bottom closed portion forming a vertex. A pole or extensible rod is attached to the end of the frame for holding and manipulating the device through the water. Also provided is a means connected to the bottom closed portion of the net enclosed within the netting to maintain the vertex portion of the net in an open and receptive position while it is manipulated and moved along and below the water's surface to collect and remove debris. The means, when rotated to a horizontal position, expands the bottom closed portion of the net to facilitate the collection of debris and is also used as a device for grasping the bottom closed portion of the net in the process of emptying the net of debris.

While the prior arts mostly deal with cleaning leaves and related debris from swimming pools, the solutions presented are not compact and may require separate storage space. The bath tub industry and consumers on the other hand would appreciate a portable and handy apparatus that would allow them to conveniently clean debris without requiring separate storage space. The present disclosure proposes an apparatus that allows users to remove debris from tubs easily and effectively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In light of the disadvantages mentioned in the previous section, the following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification and drawings as a whole. Embodiments of the present disclosure proposes a portable cleaning apparatus that may be used in bathtubs and hot tubs. The apparatus comprises an elongated handle with a first end and a second end, a frame attached to the first end of the elongated handle, a suction cup attached to the second end of the elongated handle, and a replaceable net having a fine-mesh structure releasably attached to the frame. The frame maybe provided with a fine mesh net having a plurality of small holes. The net may block solid particles but allows liquid to pass through its surface. The apparatus may be compact in size thereby allowing users to handle the apparatus easily for removing debris present in the tubs. The suction cup provided on the handle may allow the apparatus to be easily docked onto the surface of the tub. The user may dock the apparatus onto the surface of the tub when the apparatus is not in use.

This summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments, to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description and figures. The above-mentioned embodiments and further variations of the proposed invention is discussed further in the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exemplary top view of the cleaning apparatus described herein according to the embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary side view of the cleaning apparatus fitted with a fine mesh net according to the embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary rear view of the cleaning apparatus described herein according to the embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary isometric view of the cleaning apparatus described herein according to the embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary illustration of the apparatus mounted onto a sidewall of a tub according to the embodiments of the present disclosure; The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present subject matter in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description of the embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense.

The specification may refer to “an”, “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations. This does not necessarily imply that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”, “comprises”, “including” and/or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations and arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The terms ‘cleaning apparatus’, ‘cleaning device’, and ‘apparatus’ may be used interchangeably throughout this document. The terms ‘tubs’, ‘bathtubs’, and ‘hot tubs’ may be used interchangeably throughout this document. The terms herein do not limit the scope of the present subject matter.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a compact and portable cleaning apparatus that may be used to clear debris out of water stored in bathtubs and/or hot tubs is disclosed. The apparatus may be used with indoor or outdoor tubs.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the apparatus may comprise an elongated handle with a first end and a second end. The handle may be easily held by a user and may provide adequate grip even when the handle is wet. A frame may be attached to the first end of the elongated handle. The frame may be flexible or rigid in nature. When a flexible frame is attached, the shape of the frame may be altered by the user depending upon the cleaning area. For example, the corners of the tub may be difficult to clean and hence the frame may be flexed to adopt to the shape of the corners. Similarly, the filter compartment may have different shapes/dimensions. The frame may be flexed to adapt to different dimensions. Alternatively, the frame may be rigid in nature and may have a rectangular, square, or circular shape. The frame may be compact thereby allowing easy cleaning of compact areas of the tub.

A suction cup or a nano-suction based adhesive material may be provided to the second end of the elongated handle. The suction cup or the adhesive material may be used to mount the apparatus onto the surface of tubs. In one example, the suction cup or the adhesive may be resistant to reasonable amount of heat/cold and temperature fluctuations. The suction cup or the adhesive material may also be water resistant thereby enabling the apparatus to be mounted on wet surfaces as well. The user may dock the apparatus onto the walls or surfaces of the tub when the apparatus is not in use. Presence of moisture or even reasonable amount of heat on the surface of the tub may not affect the working of the suction cup.

A replaceable net having a fine-mesh structure maybe releasably attached to the frame. The frame maybe provided with a fine mesh net having a plurality of small holes. The net may block solid particles but allow liquid to pass through its body.

A user may use the apparatus to scoop debris out of water including areas where the filters of the bath tubs operate. In some hot tubs, there are chances of filtering medium breaking apart creating small particles that are difficult to clean. The proposed apparatus maybe used to easily scoop-out the broken particles from such areas of the tub. The size of the apparatus makes it easier for users to work on areas with difficult corners and small openings as well.

Referring to the figures, FIG. 1 is an exemplary top view of the apparatus for cleaning tubs according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The frame 102 is connected to the first end of the handle 104 while the suction cup 106 or adhesive material may be disposed on the second end of the handle 104 as described in the figure. In one example, the frame 102 may be flexible and the handle 104 may be extendable.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary side view of the apparatus showing the fine mesh net 202 attached to the frame 102 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The fine net mesh 202 may be replaceable and may be fastened to the frame 102 of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary rear view of the of the cleaning apparatus described herein according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is an exemplary isometric view of the cleaning apparatus described herein according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary illustration of the apparatus mounted onto a sidewall of a tub according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. Tubs may include water tubs and/or hot tubs places indoors or outdoors as understood by a person skilled in the art.

The apparatus may be used easily by the user to remove debris including but not limited to hair, pollen, bugs, wrappers, and other tiny particles floating around the tub on the surface and under the water. The apparatus may also be used to remove debris present in the filter compartment of modern tubs. The components of the apparatus that are mostly prone to wear and tear including the suction cup 106 and the fine mesh net 202 may be replaceable by the user. In one embodiment, a V-Clip may be used to connect the replacement net to the pole/handle. Alternatively, the net may be connected to the handle/pole using pins, clips, adhesives, or the like.

The apparatus may be manufactured using one or more of a combination of plastics, polymers, silicone, metals and alloys, or any related materials that are sturdy and resistant to reasonable amount of heat and cold as understood by a person skilled in the art. The materials used to manufacture the apparatus may also be resistant to the soaps and chemicals generally used in hot tubs and bathtubs as understood by a person skilled in the art. The dimensions of the apparatus may be modified according to the requirements of the user as understood by a person skilled in the art.

It may be noted that the above-described examples of the present solution are for the purpose of illustration only. Although the solution has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment thereof, numerous modifications may be possible without materially departing from the teachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Other substitutions, modifications, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present solution. All the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

The terms “include,” “have,” and variations thereof, as used herein, have the same meaning as the term “comprise” or an appropriate variation thereof. Furthermore, the term “based on”, as used herein, means “based at least in part on.” Thus, a feature that is described as based on some stimulus can be based on the stimulus or a combination of stimuli including the stimulus. The present description has been shown and described with reference to the foregoing examples. It is understood, however, that other forms, details, and examples can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for clearing debris from water tubs, comprising: an elongated handle with a first end and a second end; a frame attached to the first end of the elongated handle; a suction cup attached to the second end of the elongated handle; and a net having a fine-mesh structure attached to the frame.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the suction cup allows the apparatus to be releasably mounted onto surfaces of tubs.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elongated handle of the apparatus is extendable.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of the apparatus is non-flexible and has a rectangular or square shape.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is waterproof.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is resistant to change temperature within the water tubs.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fine-mesh structure of the replaceable net allows removal of fine debris from water stored in the water tubs.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame of the apparatus is flexible.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the flexible frame allows removal of fine debris from compact areas of the water tub by altering the shape of the frame.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the net is replaceable.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the net is releasably attached to the frame. 